"How on Earth did Harley smell the daffodils?" Harry asked when he and Draco were back at home in the manor.

"She's a potioneer," Draco replied. "She's trained to notice everything. I'm surprised she didn't see the unicorn horn dust on my robe. Glad that bloody lighting in her office is so dark." Draco stripped off his outer robes and went back into the room they'd cleared for the potion they'd been brewing.

Harry watched as his...boyfriend? Lover? What did he call his also nearly middle-aged bedmate? Boyfriend sounded so childish, whereas lover sounded like they shared nothing but sex, and that was not the case. He and Draco had become so close since December, they were more like soul mates as opposed to lovers.

And Draco's pet project, the one to rid Hogwarts of the one Dark object he had deliberately allowed to escape, made Harry love him even more.

"Is it nearly done?" Harry asked.

Draco nodded. "Six months to brew will end soon. Then we just need to add the final two ingredients. By the by, we know where the one is, and you claimed to know about the other."

Harry nodded. "I do. And I told Albus just where to find it. I only hope he avoids the trouble I used to get into there."

Draco laughed, ruffling Harry's messy locks. "He's a Potter: expect an owl from Hogwarts soon, love."

I kissed Oliver Wood.

That was the only thought Harley had all evening once the ball had ended.

I kissed Oliver Wood in front of half the Wizarding World! What must George have thought? And McGonagall-I was snogging her former student! Bloody fucking fuck.

She was glad that this night was her night to patrol the halls: she wouldn't have been getting much sleep anyway. She hated herself. How dare she have disgraced her love for Fred that way? It mattered not that he had been gone two decades: some wounds never heal, you just learn to live with them. And kissing Oliver had been throwing firewhiskey into that old wound.

Suddenly, she was accosted by Nearly Headless Nick, who looked panicked. His partially severed head was hanging haphazardly on a thread of skin and sinew.

"Students in the forest! Students in the forest!" He pointed out the window. Harley rushed over and peered out. Sure enough, there were three distinct wands lit with lumos going deeper into the forest.

"Damn it. Thank you, Nick." She took off for the front doors, knowing for certain that one of the students out had to have the surname 'Potter'. She paused at the forest's entrance, having never set foot inside there since she and Severus had fought off those dementors with Alicia in seventh year.

Taking a breath, she lit her wand and stepped inside the forest, going in further than she had before, wondering just how fast the kids could have gone to be so far ahead of her. Finally, she saw the lights and called for them to halt.

However, halt they did not. With a scream, the kids began running backwards, towards where Harley stood in a little clearing.

"Aunt Harley!" Albus called. "Help!"

The help was echoed twice, once by Scorpius and once by Rose as all three kids entered the clearing like they were being chased. And Harley realised that they were. Their faces were drawn, white, terrified, and she saw why as her own body began to go cold and shivery.

Were the woods a breeding ground for dementors? Their population had diminished greatly since the war ended, and rarely were any seen outside of Azkaban now.

She felt sick and dizzy and weepy as phantom voices and sounds filled her mind. Fred's laughter and an explosion; Remus calling out spells and then a sick cracking sound followed by Tonks' scream; Voldemort announcing her father's murder. Her own cries over the bodies of her loved ones, the old dread and anguish filling back up as though two decades hadn't passed.

It wasn't until Scorpius screamed that she broke out of her stupor. The boy-who had seen his mother die of dragon pox when he was seven-was writhing on the floor, tears streaking his pale face. Albus was at his side, trying to protect him from the hovering black-hooded creature. The thing didn't know which of the affected it wanted to attack first, and that gave Harley the moment she needed to gather herself.

I'm not the only soul at stake here, she thought, gripping her wand. She'd never cast a Patronus since that day Fred died, and she was afraid she no longer had the good memories with which she could conjure one up.

Fred. Remember his smile, remember how he held your hand through the battle. Remember how Remus stood up for you. Remember you father's love.

"Expecto patronum!" From her wand, the silvery light burst forth, its force knocking her back into a tree trunk as she saw her patronus take form. Having not cast it for so long, she was shocked to see that it had changed its form. No longer was it the large, swooping bat; it was a bright silver doe, just like both of her parents' had been.

The doe chased the dementor away, and the thing evaporated into nothingness with an ear-splitting screech. The doe landed on the ground, and it appeared to check on Scorpius before returning to its mistress, disappearing inside of her.

Ignoring the trembling in her limbs, Harley ran to her godson. "Scorpius? Hey, it's all right. You are fine. It was just a bad memory."

Albus helped him sit up and Harley touched her wand to his face, stopping his tears. "Are you okay?" Albus asked worriedly.

Scorpius nodded, and Harley helped him to stand, where Rose and Albus proceeded to fawn over him like mother hens.

"Are any of you injured?" Harley asked. All three of them shook their heads no. "Good. That means I get to punish you. What the bloody Hell were you three thinking, sneaking off in the middle of the night into the Forbidden Forest? Were you so inspired by your parents and their old adventures you had to attempt them for yourselves?"

"No, we-" Rose was cut off by Albus stepping on her toes. "I guess."

Harley turned to her nephew. "Give me the map."

"What map?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"Don't play dumb with me, kid. Hand it over now." Harley held her hand out and waited while Albus sheepishly handed over the map. "Did your father give this to you?"

He fidgeted. "Not quite. He gave James the cloak, and I thought I should get something, too, so I took the map."

"And you two-what inspired this? Rose, your mum had to have told you not to go poking around where you're not meant to be. Scorpius, you and your father have obviously been spending far too much time with the Potters.

"Detention for the next week for all three: scrubbing cauldrons and beakers without using magic in my office. And ten points from Slytherin; twenty from Gryffindor." She went to say more when she saw something in cloth, clutched in Scorpius' hand. "What is that?"

The kids all glanced at each other, sheepish.

"Scorpius Lucius Malfoy, give it to me...now."

Scorpius held out his hand and said, "We found it in the forest. Rose suggested picking it up with a cloth in case it was cursed."

Harley opened up the cloth, her eyes falling upon a small stone that could easily fit inside a walnut shell. She'd never seen it before, but she knew what it was simply based on its proximity. The Deathly Hallow, the Resurrection Stone.

"Another five points from Slytherin for trying to hide that from me," she said, still staring at the stone. "Follow me back to the castle."

Once inside, she gave them a dose of her Tenebris Exilium potion and sent them to bed.

"But what will you do with the stone?" Albus asked.

"Keep it here overnight and owl Hermione in the morning to see what the Ministry wants to do with it...or the Order. Now get to bed. You have exams coming up."

She made sure they got to their dorms and then shut herself in her own rooms, still clutching the stone in its protective covering. She sat on the edge of her bed, her curiosity warring with her sense of right and wrong. A Deathly Hallow by itself could be dangerous, but knowing all three were within the grounds at once was terrifying. James had the Invisibility Cloak, she had the stone, and the Elder Wand was buried with Dumbledore.

But while she knew that what the stone did was potentially fatal to the user, it didn't stop her from wanting to touch it, to see Fred once more. This night, more than ever before, she missed him terribly. Kissing Oliver, beginning to move on, had brought forth a deep well of guilt and shame, and to be able to just talk to him once more…

"Fuck it, what am I a Gryffindor for if I don't make stupid decisions like Harry every once in awhile?" She unwrapped the stone with her left hand and held it tightly in her right, waiting to see what might happen now.

A misty greenish white form began to take shape before her eyes, and she felt her heart began to hammer in her chest. It continued to take a human form, still unrecognisable as it began to shift and contort. Finally, her ghostly visitor was standing before her.

Without meaning to, she blurted out, "Of all the people I know who died, you're the one who comes out of the stone? Just my luck."

Sirius Black chuckled. "I figured that might be your reaction."

Harley wanted to drop the stone and make the rotten bastard disappear, but he had appeared to her for some reason. She knew spirits weren't random, just as they had not been for Harry when he had used the stone.

"What do you want with me? Come up with a few more insults since Bellatrix knocked you into the Veil?"

He laughed again. "Yeah, okay, I deserve that. Look...I know it's a little late, but I can't help it if I've been unable to communicate. ...I wanted to apologise. I was an arsehole as a kid to your father. I was an arsehole to you both as an adult. You didn't deserve how I treated you, and neither did he." Sirius cleared his throat and Harley saw that ghosts can cry. "You saved my godson, you and him."

Harley was speechless. Had Sirius Black actually apologised? She didn't even know he could comprehend the concept.

"And I'm sorry I didn't believe you about James. If I'd known what he was doing, I would have stopped him when we were teenagers."

Harley wasn't sure what to say. For all the things in the world she was prepared for, having the ghost of Sirius Black apologise to her was not one of them.

"I am glad you came to your senses in death," she said loftily. "What's it like up there?"

"Heaven? No cherubs playing harps, if that's what you think. If you're subtly asking if everyone's here, the answer is that most of them are. Not James, no one's seen him since his death. No Death Eaters, either...unless you count Snape." He smirked.

"You're still a bastard," she commented, but without venom. She knew it took a big person to apologise about their own wrongs, and she respected him for that. Funny how it took death to have any sort of good feelings towards Sirius.

"I'm not the only one here, you know," he said. "I just wanted to make sure I had the chance to apologise." He stepped back, fading into the shadows of her room but still there as another form, bigger than his, started to take shape.

"Hey, kid," Remus said, smiling softly. "Long time no see." He was smiling, unharmed. No blood marred his clothes, no bones were broken in his neck. Even his scars seemed to be gone. Is it possible for one to look healthy in death?

Words and feelings Harley had never consciously acknowledged came spilling forth, barely keeping tears at bay.

"I'm so sorry, Remus, you died protecting me from Greyback. Had I been faster, or surer of my wand, I'd have been able to stop him myself, but he was so close to you, I was afraid I would accidentally kill you. Had I only hurt him harder, quicker, you never would have died!"

Remus' eyes softened. "Oh, Harley, that wasn't your fault. Greyback had been trying to kill me for decades. One can't outrun the inevitable, as the tale of the Deathly Hallows showed us. My death was no more your fault than it was my own. You would have been able to handle Greyback, but I couldn't see him hurt you, so I interfered. No one is at fault for my death except for him." His eyes narrowed. "Speaking of…"

Harley put her head in her hands. Her one use of the Killing Curse. She'd tried to block it from her mind. "You're dead, Remus, and you're still going to lecture me?"

"Actually I was going to thank you," he corrected. "It takes a lot of love for someone to possibly damn their soul to avenge you, as you did for me."

"I had to," she said quietly. "We'd turned over a new leaf, to use a Muggle expression. And then you were just gone. I would've done it to Bellatrix, too, had she not Apparated away."

Remus smiled at her. "Those rare moments you sound like your mother bring me more joy than you could ever know. I'm proud of the woman you became. I've been watching over you, we all have. You bring us a lot of happiness even when you don't know we're there. And believe me, someone's always with you." He glanced over to where another shade was forming. "Especially this one."

Remus stepped back, next to Sirius, as the third ghostly shade finished forming.

"Hey, Harley. I've missed you," Fred Weasley said, looking bright and happy, his brightness not even dulled by death.

"Oh my God," Harley gasped, feeling her body go numb. Nevertheless, she managed to stand and walked towards Fred.

He reached for her and stopped before they could touch, and Harley remembered that, though she could see and hear him, he still wasn't corporeal.

"I don't even know what to say," Harley began. "One moment you were laughing and Percy was talking about me being part of the family and the next...there are days I still wake up and think it was all a nightmare."

Fred's eyes glazed over with unshed tears. "I didn't know I was dead at first. It took seeing you by my...my body that made me realise what had just happened. I was worried about you and George. I was afraid of what would happen to you both."

"George seems okay, but I think we all know better. He lost half of his soul when you died, Freddie...and I lost half of my heart," Harley admitted.

Fred nodded. "But you still have another half and it needs more than you've given it. Harley, I love you with everything I have, always will. It hurts to see you denying yourself happiness. The greatest gift I ever got was your smile aimed at me, and now no one gets to see it anymore. That's not right."

"Oh, not you, too," Harley said. "Even Father's portrait has been saying shit like that."

Fred chuckled. "Yeah, and good job not telling me who my father-in-law was going to be! I know why you kept it a secret, but imagine being me."

Harley laughed a little. "He was so excited for us, Fred. I know it might be hard to picture but all he wanted was for us to be happy."

"I know," Fred said. "He told me. Up here." He gestured to the area around him, which Harley assumed was Heaven and she just couldn't see it. "And he still wants that. Which you're denying yourself. Harley, you've been through Hell: you deserve to be happy."

"Then tell me how because all I know is if I'm not busy it hurts so badly I can barely breathe," Harley said, furiously wiping at the tears that fell from her eyes.

"You were offered a chance tonight," Fred reminded her. "He's not me, but Oliver's a good person. There's not much better out there than an honest, nice guy who owns a Quidditch team and has had a crush on you since we were all kids."

"You knew he liked me?" Harley asked.

Fred nodded, a blush spreading on his freckled face. "Sure I did. I was just lucky you were so taken with me you were oblivious to him. ...C'mon, love: it won't heal you, but it will help if you let him in. It won't hurt as badly anymore and it'll make me happy, too. Promise me you'll be happy again."

"I can't make that promise," Harley said.

"Then promise you'll try," Fred requested. "For me, because I love you too much to ever see you sad."

"I love you, too, Fred."

He blew her a kiss and went to stand next to Remus as another form began to appear, smaller than Fred, even smaller than Sirius.

This spirit Harley couldn't remember meeting in life, but that didn't make her any less recognisable. Dark red hair the color of blood, she stood out as Fred had from the dreary whitish shade of the spirits, smiling a smile Harley had seen many times in her own mirror.

"Mum…" Harley hated admitting it to herself, she had been envious of Harry to have been able to talk to Lily when he had had the Stone in the forest.

"Hello, my beautiful little girl. Not so little anymore, are you?" Lily's eyes-Harry's eyes-were streaming with tears. "How I wish I could have been there for you."

"I wish you had, too. All I ever wanted was to know you," Harley said.

Lily, a few inches shorter than her daughter, walked closer. Harley felt the chill on her skin from the spirit. "You grew up so wonderfully."

"It was no small part because of Father," Harley said.

Lily's smile widened. "It was Hell waiting for him to wake up and tell you who he was. Proud, stubborn bastard he is. But you inherited the best thing about him: his loving heart."

"You're together, then?" Harley asked.

"Yes, of course we are. We were kept apart long enough. But he deserved more time with you, little girl."

Harley swallowed back even more tears. "That's what he called me, too."

"He loved you more than anything, Harley. As do I."

"I wish I could have more time with you, but I can already feel the Stone draining me," Harley said, gripping the little black rock harder. "There are so many stories I want to hear from your perspective, about you and Father."

"Oh, Harley, that would be a long time indeed." Lily reached out and Harley felt the ghost of her hand brush her cheek. "I just wanted to tell you how much I love you, and have loved watching you grow and become this amazing witch. And Severus does, too. We have all been right by your side this whole time."

"Why won't Father come out of the Stone?" Harley asked.

Lily paused. "His spirit it still tied to the world, to you. He's not the first to be that way. Just know he's with you: we all are."

"I love you, Mum," Harley said. "Tell Father that for me, too?"

"He knows, sweetheart. Now you listen to Fred and be happy, do you hear me? None of us died so that you could be miserable."

"Yes, Mum," Harley said. "I'm going to do my best. For all of you."

She looked over at all her loved ones (plus Sirius) and said a final goodbye as she let the stone slip from her fingers and fall onto the table near her bed. One by one they all faded, and her last sight was of Fred, blowing her one last kiss.